Two dogs and a cat died Friday afternoon after fire engulfed a dog grooming business on Roller Rink Road in Oxford WGME photo
OXFORD — Two dogs and a cat perished Friday afternoon after fire engulfed a dog grooming business at 72 Roller Rink Road.
The owners of Ox-Bow Dog Grooming were tending to some animals about 3 p.m. when the smoke alarms began sounding, according to Oxford Fire Chief Paul Hewey. When they looked out the window, they saw that the front porch was ablaze and the family had to scramble outside to safety.
None of them were injured.
The business is owned by Gay Farnum and her family, Dennis and Casey Farnum. Their home is considered a total loss. The family was staying at an Auburn hotel Friday night.
The Fire Marshal’s Office was being sent to the scene later Friday to assist with an investigation into the cause of the blaze.
Firefighters from more than half a dozen towns battled the blaze for hours in 90-degree heat, with at least one requiring hospital treatment for heat exhaustion. Others needed tending for similar ailments at the scene.
Hewey said manpower shortages among fire departments around the region prompted him to call those from as far away as Auburn and New Gloucester. Crews from several other towns, including Norway, Paris, Otisfield, Mechanic Falls, Casco and Poland, also responded, although many of those have been hampered by manpower shortages, as well.
While they were battling the fire, some firefighters had to be sent to other emergency calls, including some to a car fire at Walmart and others to assist with extrication tools at vehicle crash in Paris.
The fire on Roller Rink Road, between Main Street and Route 26, was reported knocked down shortly before 5 p.m. The long, single-story home was destroyed.
Because of the manpower shortages and the intense heat, Hewey said he also had to call more ambulances to the scene than he typically would. The shortage of firefighters and paramedics, he said, has been having an impact on firefighting efforts across the region.
“We have got to get this figured out,” Chief Hewey said. “We shouldn’t have to call Auburn and New Gloucester to come to a fire in Oxford.”
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